Penn State QB1 Drew Allar burnt a lot of bridges that fateful evening at the Orange Bowl. Whatever credence he’d built up in State College during the B1G Championship game in Indy dissipated in real time in Miami. But pick yourself up and shrug it off, pal. HC James Franklin managed to assimilate a Natty-contending roster, and Allar is at the epicenter of it. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Some of the sheen may have dulled off this proverbial crown, but the quarterback still has to take the onus. Especially with a supporting cast that is stacked and, more importantly, familiar.
If there’s one C word more difficult to achieve than championship in this sport, it’s continuity. The nature of College Football is such that programs are riding a cyclic carousel. Players hop on and off perpetually. Within this, Penn State has managed to keep the band together, for the most part. However, they’ve lost key personnel in their receiving corps. Both their top-2 WRs in Harrison Wallace III and Omari Evans departed via the transfer portal. In addition to this, James Franklin’s offense has taken a massive blow in losing Tyler Warren to the NFL. That was the alpha target Allar worked with, and for good reason. But as difficult as losing the best tight end in the country is, there’s a lot for Drew Allar to work with. Most certainly right alongside him, in the backfield.
Happy Valley exuded a collective sigh of relief when the two-headed monster of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen returned to campus for one more year. The pair was expected to ascend to the pros themselves, but chose to stick around. Something that pleasantly surprised even Coach Franklin. If David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are the NFL variant of Sonic and Knuckles, these two are the same on the rung below. Singleton is especially key to how this offense operates, taking that Gibbs role as a catching threat out of the backfield. He and Allen form a one-two punch that few, if any, schools across the Big 10 or even nationwide can compare to. But the offensive production elsewhere has certainly depleted. Owing to this, one Penn State fan/insider has urged Drew Allar to become a force multiplier. A driver rather than a passenger. More akin to that Oregon game than the Notre Dame one.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl – Penn State v Boise State
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 31: Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks on in action during the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl between the Penn State Nittany Lions and Boise State Broncos at State Farm Stadium on December 31, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Tyler Donohue asked Drew Allar some very potent rhetorical questions, vicariously, over the Lions247 YouTube channel. “[Drew Allar is] down top three pass targets from last year…So I think a big question here is, ‘Is Drew Allar ready to raise all boats around him?’ He’s a senior quarterback, former five star. He’s got new weapons, [both] young talent [and] experienced transfer talent. Can he be the guy that is the catalyst and brings that together? Does he have to depend on that group, or can they depend on him to kind of raise the entire situation?” he remarked. By all accounts, Allar’s got all the tools in his repertoire. There’s very little he cannot do, which has even earned him notoriety among NFL circles. However, he still hasn’t found a way to click things together on a consistent basis.
Drew Allar’s mean level is good enough for Penn State to be in and around the playoff conversation. But if James Franklin really wants to get the monkey of those big-game shortcomings off his back, he’ll need Allar to show progression. Complement his tailbacks in a way that accentuates the offense in its entirety. But in case this doesn’t happen and Allar stagnates, Coach Franklin has worked on a contingency plan. It’s shrewd, but how he arrived at the plan may be a little cynical.
James Franklin leaving no stone unturned to surround Drew Allar with quality
In order to retool his fractured WR room, James Franklin dipped his toes into the transfer portal. Something that’s not a feature across the rest of his roster, which has been built through high school recruitment. On3’s Sean Fitz stepped into Franklin’s shoes and assessed how he may have come to this conclusion.
“This time last year, if that was the situation, would they have admitted that they’re still looking in the portal in the spring? I don’t think so. Because they were so worried about the delicate nature of everybody in that room. Now it’s like, ‘You know what? If you’re not good enough, we’re not wasting time.’” said Fitz. When you’re trying to break the class ceiling hanging over you and the program, certain calls need to be made. Sure, James Franklin could’ve hoped that one of his young receivers would pick up the mantle. But he’s firmly in a win-now, sink-or-swim situation.
The buck ultimately stops with Drew Allar. Penn State and James Franklin have held their end of the bargain and put the pieces around him. It’s now up to him to deliver. Something tells me he can. After all, the only way is up after the last pass he threw in a Penn State jersey being a lateral out of bounds!
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